MISSION
Our mission is to foster a creative ecosystem based in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, through the cross-pollination of artist residencies, educational outreach and groundbreaking immersive artworks from local, national and international artists.
VISION
We believe that culture is an investment in civil society, and such an investment benefits from the existence of open, dynamic and fluid enclaves fostered by artists and other creative people. We believe that gathering together and sharing knowledge and resources within these enclaves will improve both our artworks and our communities. We believe in the commingling of different ideas, energies and initiatives as a means of sparking innovation and radical possibilities in art and society. We believe in culture as an ongoing creative process, and we seek to support and feed that process through our various programs and initiatives.
In this way, Culture Mill powers an arts ecosystem. It is a generator. It sustains an ecosystem. Utilizing the image of a mill, Culture Mill operates in circular movements, pulling in art and audiences, followers and friends of all different sorts, letting it mix together and sending it outward at the same time. Like a mill, it is composed of different moving parts and interlocking mechanisms. These parts are its residency program, its education and outreach programs and its crafted immersive experiences. Culture Mill values a circular exchange of resources, ideas, energy and social and creative capital within a community, rather than linear transactions. As it draws multiple energies in and spirals new ones out, Culture Mill is distinctly and necessarily grounded in a place: Saxapahaw, NC.
Our Staff
Murielle Elizeon
Co-Director
Murielle Elizéon (she/her) is a french dancer, performer, choreographer and teacher. She grew up in Southern France, and studied Italian Literature and Dance Aesthetics while completing her dance training. She began her professional dance career in Paris in 1995.
As a dancer/performer/choreographer, she has toured with various dance companies in France (Thomas Lebrun), Switzerland (Joachim Schlömer), Denmark (Soren Sundby, Palle Granhoj), and Germany ( PVC-Tanz, Euhn-Me Ahn). She has also collaborated with theater directors such as Robert Wilson, Tom Schneider and Anna Mac Cracken.
Murielle's choreographic work (solo and duets) has been presented in France, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, and Slovakia. Since 2008, she has collaborated with Tommy Noonan on several creations projects such as Tout court, Labyrinth, The Engagement and What doesn’t Work.
As a movement artist, she is interested in the ever-evolving condition of the body and the complexity of human experience, as well as in the creation of diverse temporary communities. She has been creating/leading/participating in many community projects involving various abilities and ages groups such as Switchkasten, After All and Augenblick (Theater Freiburg, Germany). She completed a DanceAbility Teacher certification with Alito Alessi in Vienna, Austria in 2010.
She believes in the importance of movement practice and creative process in education, and is leading Culture Mill's unique program for an embodied, impactful, inspiring, and collaborative Arts Education in public schools. She is a skilled, experienced and enthusiastic teacher, having taught for 20 years in France, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia and the US, for a diverse public (Professionals dancers and actors, Seniors, children with SpecialsNeeds). She holds a BA in Dance education from RIDC, Paris, France.
Murielle has also danced, taught and performed Argentine Tango for more than 10 years, using the form as a tool to access clarity of intention, body awareness, communication and connection to others.
Caitlyn Swett
Managing and Development Director
Caitlyn Swett (she/her) is a dance-maker, sound artist, and arts administrator from Black Mountain, NC. Her work has meandered throughout North Carolina and led her to co-found Triptych Collective (Charlotte), co-produce On Site/In Sight Dance Festival (Winston-Salem), perform in electropoetry band Streak of Tigers (Durham), and collaborate with interdisciplinary noise/dance project Paideia (NC/NY). Caitlyn’s administrative career has supported the work of Neighborhood Theatre, Helen Simoneau Danse, American Dance Festival, and Culture Mill. She has also performed with choreographers throughout the state. Throughlines of Caitlyn’s artistic and administrative career include sustained commitments to embodied approaches to making, experimental art in non-traditional venues, and a sonic curiosity.
Tommy Noonan
Co-Director
Tommy Noonan (he/him) is a director, choreographer, writer and performer currently based in Saxapahaw, NC. His work has been presented extensively throughout Germany, France, Portugal, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and Mexico. He was awarded a DanceWEB scholarship to attend ImPulsTanz in 2006. In 2008 he was a finalist for the Rolex Mentor and Protogé Arts Initiative in the field of Dance; in 2009 he was a contributor to Forum PRISMA in Mexico City. Tommy has written texts for publication in Revisita Obscena (Portugal) Freies Theater Journal (Austria) the Performance Journal (New York City) and IndyWeek (Durham, NC). His lecture: “Disorganized Organization”, was given in Istanbul for Team Network’s 2008 symposium on cultural management, with support from the Goethe Institute.
Tommy has collaborated with Okwui Okpokwasili through Carolina Performing Arts’ Creative Futures program, and with Australia’s The Farm, in their creation of “Food Chain”, which premiered in Australia’s Sydney Festival. In Germany he has worked in Opera, Dance and Theater with Graham Smith, Tom Schneider, Joachim Schlömer, Dennis Deter and Stephanie Thiersch. His research and work in public space performance with Georg Hobmeier took place between Argentina, Germany and Austria, and their conversations on performance and public space have appeared in the acclaimed: “Guidebook of Alternative Nows”.
Noonan directed “The Engagement” for the Maxim Gorki Theater’s Heinrich von Kleist festival in Berlin and has toured his smaller works such as “Wilderness”, “Tout Court”, “What Doesn’t Work”, and “Brother Brother” in more than 70 performances and 8 countries. Most recently, he and Murielle Elizeon were commissioned by the American Dance Festival to create a new dance work: “They Are All” as a part of ADF’s 2019 Summer season. Noonan’s work with Elizeon was recognized that year by the NC Dance Festival’s inaugural “Trailblazer Award” for innovative contributions to the field of Dance.
Tommy regularly teaches classes and workshops both internationally as well as locally in North Carolina. More about Tommy's works at tommynoonan.work